Bubble Tip Anemones are some of the most popular anemones in the reef aquarium hobby due in large part to their appearance but also because these anemones serve as hosts to a large number of clownfish. They are also capable of moving around the aquarium and often do not settle on a single location. It is for this reason that any exposed pumps and drains should be protected to prevent one of these anemones from getting sucked in. Please see below for more care tips for bubble tips as well as checking out our Top 5 Tips for setting up a reef.

Location

Bubble Tip Anemones are Pacific in origin and can be found throughout Indonesia and Australia.

Lighting

Bubble tip anemones can thrive in a variety of lighting conditions ranging from low power fluorescents to 400W metal halide bulbs. In our experience the anemones kept in stronger lighting appear to have more vibrant coloration. Anemones however can move on their own to locations they prefer, so placement may not be as important as sessile corals.

Low Light Low light translates to about 30-50 PAR

Medium LightMedium Light is between 50-150 PAR

High LightHigh Light is anything over 150 PAR

Lighting is a loaded topic, so for a more in-depth discussion of lighting, please see our Deep Dive article.

Water Flow

Moderate to strong water movement is recommended however as mentioned above this particular variety of anemones tends to race around the tank and regularly gets caught in overflows and exposed pumps such as powerheads. We try to avoid open pumps and use sponge filters to prevent these bubble tips from damaging themselves.

Feeding

There are a variety of frozen fish foods available that make outstanding meals for bubble tip anemones. We like to feed a mixture of meaty foods such as shrimp, fish, and squid. Their favorite appear to be silversides fed once every 3-4 days.

Propagation

In terms of propagation, this genus has been successfully propagated. The methods however vary from anemone to anemone it seems. They are capable of propagating on their own by means of longitudinal fission where they split in half on their own. Some aquarists induce this behavior by introducing some sort of stress on the system such as changing salinity or water temperature. Others do nothing and their anemones split on their own.

Acclimation

Proper acclimation is extremely important considering the stress imposed on the animals by the shipping process. Please take a moment to review our Acclimation Guide.

Photography

The images were taken with a Canon 5D mk II and 100mm macro lens under T5 Fluorescent lighting. Quite a lot goes into how we go about shooting the corals and anemones you see on Tidal Gardens. For an in-depth look at our methods, check out our comprehensive Reef Aquarium Photography FAQ.